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ABU DHABI GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 21, 2010Richard BlandABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Q. A good start, wasn't it? RICHARD BLAND: Yeah, after sort of nearly a month off, you kind of -- you don't know where you're really at, so coming out with three birdies off the bat was good. I've been working with Jamil for quite a few months now, and he kind of sort of just put me in the right frame of mind to come out and sort of make an impression early instead of just trying to feel your way in. So I just made sure I had the right sort of frame of mind on the first tee to come out and strong and it worked out. Q. Because you played a couple in Africa before Christmas, but not the two, that was always the plan? RICHARD BLAND: I kind of was going to play Joburg and just felt like I wanted an extra week at home. Obviously ended up shoveling snow. I was in Dubai last week with my coach and just basically dawn till dusk with the practise and had some sore hands at the end of a few days, and fortunately it's paid off. Feeling good today. Q. Price you've got to pay for a layoff. RICHARD BLAND: Yeah, I had planned to do nothing over Christmas and from South Africa to New Year's. I didn't pick up a club and thought, right, I'll get back into it and the snow came. Yeah, to come out and shoot 65 first round is very satisfying. Q. What's your take on the groove issue? Have you been affected about it? RICHARD BLAND: If I missed a green today I was right on the very edge and I could put. I haven't actually hit a chip yet. But I think, yeah, there's a little bit more release from the kind of sort of 100 yards out and stuff. But obviously everyone out here is pretty good and they can judge how far it's going to go. We had a couple of shots within the first cut today where it was in between the yardage and I just went for the short club and hit it harder and tried to get a bit more spin that way. I think you'll probably find a lot of guys that do that. Q. Does it affect your take for tomorrow, having such a good start? RICHARD BLAND: It's all about getting yourself in position for the weekend and I've put myself in a great position. It's a world-class field, a long way to go, so just go out there and try and carry on from where I left off and hopefully just put yourself in position for Saturday and Sunday. Q. You might be able to see what you're doing when you finish tomorrow. Just about made it. RICHARD BLAND: Yeah, it's been a funny round. The last putt, you could see it but it wasn't as clear as you would like it to be. Especially when you're 7-under. Q. When it gets dark here, it gets dark here. RICHARD BLAND: Yeah, there's no dusk. We have only been finished five minutes and you couldn't play now. It's sort of daylight and then it's nighttime. The weather is just perfect. End of FastScripts |
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